Seoul: Two rival candidates in the election for the top South Korean football position have urged the governing body to discipline its incumbent chief, Chung Mong-gyu, as requested by the sports ministry. Shin Moon-sun, a former player and television analyst, insisted on Monday that the Korea Football Association (KFA) must swiftly respond to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's demand to penalize Chung, who is pursuing his fourth term as KFA president.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry, after concluding its extensive investigation into the KFA in November, recommended "at least the suspension" of Chung and other senior executives due to various irregularities, including the contentious appointment of Hong Myung-bo as the new men's national team head coach in July. Although the KFA challenged the ruling, the ministry dismissed the appeal on Jan. 2, requiring the KFA to act on Chung within a month.
"The KFA must open disciplinary proceedings on Chung as soon as possible," Shin stated during an unscheduled press conference on Monday. "The deadline set by the ministry is fast approaching, but we have not seen any signs that the KFA is about to take action." Shin's call for action mirrored the stance of another candidate, former men's national team head coach Huh Jung-moo, who said last Friday that the KFA should not delay disciplining Chung any longer.
Huh warned that if the KFA is aiming to elect Chung without imposing any penalty, it should abandon such plans as Chung's victory would need to be certified by the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee. The KFA president election, initially set for Jan. 8, was postponed when a Seoul Central District Court injunction, filed by Huh, halted the proceedings due to concerns over the election management committee's composition and allegations of voter exclusion.
Though the KFA later rescheduled the election for Jan. 23, both Shin and Huh opposed the new date, arguing they hadn't agreed to it. Consequently, the election was indefinitely postponed after all eight members of the election management committee resigned on Jan. 10. The KFA aims to establish a new election committee by the end of January and resume election preparations in early February.
On Monday, KFA delegates convened an emergency general meeting, issuing a statement afterward advocating for a fair and transparent presidential election. Expressing "extreme concern" over the KFA's inability to set a new election date, they urged the football body to minimize the impact of the administrative vacuum and counter the spread of baseless accusations and misinformation that threaten to divide the football community further.
The delegates, without naming specific individuals, expressed "grave regrets" over certain candidates' attempts to manipulate facts and undermine the election's impartiality by attacking the election management committee. They emphasized that any remarks damaging the KFA's integrity and creating unrest within the football community must cease. They also appealed to all candidates to demonstrate their commitment to advancing South Korean football and urged the KFA to regain public trust through a transparent and honest election.